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Sunday, 26 March 2017

26th March

Heavy rain this week has led to the first extensive flooding
of the winter…

The water receded exceptionally quickly though and by the afternoon
had changed from this extensive lake to isolated pools.

Pick of the birds for me (which shows how low inland birders
set their sights!) were two Coot on the open water. Doubling the number of
records in the parish!

A single Redshank was my first of the year…

The floods also held seven Shelduck, as usual very
aggressive toward each other…

Plus seven Grey Herons, ten Snipe, a handful of Lapwing, a pair of Oystercatchers
and two Green Sandpipers..

Good numbers of gulls too with a couple of hundred Black-headed
and a few dozen Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Common Gulls. Almost 100
Black-headed gulls were also circling high over our garden yesterday - presumably
catching flying insects.

Signs of spring are everywhere now with a loud chorus of amphibians
and masses of Frog spawn…

But underwater toads too…

And their more delicate spawn you can just see in the centre
of the picture…

1 comment:

" Men that undertake only one district are much more likely to advance natural knowledge than those that grasp at more than they can possibly be acquainted with ; every kingdom, every province, should have its own monographer."Gilbert White — The Natural History of Selborne.This blog covers the birds and other wildlife in the parish of Ainderby Steeple, North Yorkshire.